Environmental menace of methane-laden cow burps eliminated by oregano

Well, possibly. Regardless, Penn State professor Alexander Hristov experimented for six years with different substances to feed to cows to get them to burp less before settling on oregano. Or as the British pronounce it or-uh-GONE-oh. Cow burps, a funny idea to be sure, are hazardous. Livestock account for 37 percent of the world's anthropogenic methane and methane is 20 times worse for the environment than CO2. But oregano significantly reduces cow belching (gotta feel bad for what Hristov must have smelled over the course of his research) and the cows even produce more milk as a result. Hristov is now trying to isolate the active components in oregano so a synthetic additive can be made and ranchers don't have to shove oregano down cows' throats all day in order to save the planet. Related: the world is weird sometimes.

John Moe is the host of Marketplace Tech Report and handles web content for the program. Every day, he provides an insightful overview of the latest tech news using his witty and approachable style of reporting.